


Who Are You?

by believe_in_alderaan



Series: JFO Extended Drama [2]
Category: Star Wars: Jedi: Fallen Order (Video Game)
Genre: Angst, Blood, Canon-Typical Violence, Gen, Hurt, Mental Anguish, Spoilers, Whump
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-01
Updated: 2019-12-01
Packaged: 2021-02-26 00:08:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,303
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21634165
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/believe_in_alderaan/pseuds/believe_in_alderaan
Summary: Second Sister didn’t seem to be taking any lethal blows. Cal felt like he was being toyed with instead. “You’re out of practice, young one,” she teased. He took another strike, which she tossed aside with a wave of her hand. She was strong with the force, with the darkside. She reached out with a delicate hand, and Cal felt himself lifting off the ground by a few inches. “You’re a lot of fun, padawan,” she teased. “A little scrap rat, fighting to stay alive.” Her face was well hidden in her helmet, but Cal felt her almost sick affection for him. He struggled in her grip, then using his own force abilities managed to push away out of her clutch.---Expanding on the very beginning of Jedi: Fallen Order. Needed more feelings and more pain. With love, of course.
Series: JFO Extended Drama [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1551049
Comments: 13
Kudos: 93





	Who Are You?

_ Apprentice: Mark well and listen.  _

_ Master?! _

_ Trust only in the Force. _

  
  


When Cal jolted awake, the train was stopped. He knew immediately that something was wrong. He turned to Prauf, who looked as confused as he was. “Train is stopped,” Cal said, trying to hide the fear in his voice. Earlier that day he’d used the force to save his friend when they’d fallen off the wing of a venator-class star destroyer. He couldn’t stop himself, he didn’t want to see Prauf die. Now, he might be paying the price.

“Yeah, something’s going on.” Prauf didn’t sound worried at all. 

The door to their carriage slid open revealing a handful of stormtroopers. Cal’s blood ran cold, and he faced away from them, his mind racing. “Everybody up. Identification ready,” the enforcers commanded. “Move out and line up.”

Cal kept his head down, standing near the abednedo*. “Probably just another contraband inspection,” his friend said half-heartedly. 

All of the occupants of their train car were herded outside into the rain. Cal looked up in time to come face-to-face with a purge trooper; a stormtrooper dressed in all black, the area where the eyes should be a glowing red. Now he was feeling completely panicked. Overhead the screaming sound of a tie-fighter filled their air. He watched the ship land nearby, and found himself staring when a human inquisitor stepped offboard. Another ship, a shuttle, landed and a different inquisitor, a dowutin, disembarked.

“Is this all of them?” the human inquisitor asked. Her voice was both melodious and terrifying. 

“Yes, Second Sister,” one of the purge troopers responded.

The slender, menacing inquisitor faced the group. “We seek a dangerous fugitive. This is no common anarchist, but a devotee of the treasonous Jedi Order.”

Cal kept his eyes glued to the ground, trying to keep his face firm and unreadable. He’d never encountered this type of Empire mercenary before. The dowutin inquisitor was pacing, a growl escaping her lips every so often.

"Failure to turn over this traitor will result in a charge of sedition," the Second Sister continued. "Turn yourself in or everyone present shall face summary execution." The stormtroopers and purge troopers drew their weapons. Cal and the others took a step back. His ears were ringing.  _ This isn’t happening, _ he thought helplessly.  _ I was doing fine, I was going to disappear. _

“I think… it’s time for someone came forward,” Prauf said, stepping toward the inquisitor. Cal instinctively reached out and put a hand on his friend’s shoulder, his eyes wide. Prauf looked back at him, but continued. “I uh… I-I’ve been working on this heap for a long time. Way before the war.”

_ Is he distracting them? What is he doing?  _ Cal reached for his lightsaber that he had concealed under his poncho. He hadn’t felt safe without it since being attacked on the streets months ago. 

“We refit and rebuilt ships,” Prauf continued. “The best in the galaxy. Then came the empire, and engineers became scrappers.” He was now addressing the Second Sister directly.

Cal shifted from one foot to the other, unsure what to do. His fear kept him standing there, watching as his friend rambled on.

Prauf briefly turned toward Cal. “The workers, just started getting worked.”

“Prauf…” Cal murmured, his heart beating in his throat.  _ Coward _ , he kept telling himself over and over.

“We all know the truth. We’re just too afraid to say it,” the abednedo shook his head. “To the empire, we’re all just expendable.”

Cal had to keep his knees from buckling as he watched in horror what happened next. “Yes, you are,” the Second Sister said, then she drove her angry red lightsaber through Prauf’s chest.

“NOOO!” Cal couldn’t stop himself. He raised his lightsaber above his head and ignited the blue blade. He lunged at the inquisitor, but her saber was dual-wield, and she blocked him easily. 

“Look at this, a lightsaber,” Second teased. She pushed Cal away with her blade. Then, as he tried to strike again, she force-pushed him backward into the waiting grasp of the other inquisitor. He was dazed for a moment, then realized that the large dowutin was hanging him over a cliff. “I found the Jedi!” she mocked. 

Anger blinded him, and Cal lashed out, causing her to drop him. He fell sixty or so sickening feet before crashing through the top of a passing train car. The impact knocked the wind out of him. He lay for a moment on the hard metal floor of the carriage, trying to catch his breath. 

“What’s that?” Cal heard. Stormtroopers were patrolling nearby.

Cal rolled over and got onto his hands and knees. His body was reeling from the fall, but he had to defend himself. The troopers were approaching fast, and Cal barely had time to raise his weapon to them before they fired their blasters.

The bolts were coming fast. Cal hadn’t used a lightsaber in years and was very clumsy with it. He was able to deflect some of the bolts back to the firing troopers, but some still managed to graze him. He cried out in pain, then lunged at the two doomed troopers, cutting both of them down.

Cal had never killed anybody before. He stood shakily over the lifeless bodies of the two soldiers. _ I have to run _ , he thought, his eyes scanning the train car.  _ I need to get to the front of the train and stop it.  _

Something wet and sticky tripped down over one of Cal’s eyes. He wiped at the liquid and realized he was staring at his own blood.  _ Head injury, not good. _

As he made his way through train cars, he only encountered a handful of storm troopers. The train was moving extremely fast on a raised rail. He had no chance of jumping off. HIs only option was to fully halt the moving machine and then walk the tracks until he hit land.

“Shoot to kill!” Cal spun around and lashed out at the trooper that had snuck up on him. The armored man fell without a sound. 

Cal lost count of how many train carriages he passed through. These trains were always extremely long for carrying supplies around the largely desolate planet. He opened the next door and found himself on an open-air train car. Above him hovered a fighter, ready to fire at the train.

“Whoah no!” Cal yelled to himself. With nowhere else to go, he lunged forward. The ship started firing on him, and he managed to dodge them all until he got to the next enclosed carriage. The ship was still firing, blowing holes in the walls of the train. 

The train was coming apart. Determined to stay alive, Cal continued making his way to the front of the train. The assaulting ship was waiting for him at the next open-air carriage. He feebly raised his lightsaber to try to block the barrage.

Another ship came out of nowhere and blasted the enemy ship to pieces. Cal shielded himself from the debris. The new ship, a small luxury yacht, came up alongside the fast-moving train. The door opened and a woman leaned out.   
  


“We’re here to help!” she shouted.

Cal searched her face for familiarity, but found none. “Who are you?!” he yelled back.

“No time! Keep moving, we’ll pick you up when we can!” The woman gestured to the front of the train.

He had no idea who she was, but at this point he didn’t care. If she was offering to help, and she wasn’t dressed as an inquisitor or a stormtrooper, then he would trust her.

More stormtroopers blocked his path. He was losing focus due to the gash in his head. He managed to take out the troopers, then found himself on another open carriage. The rain was coming down harder, and he could just make out a ship approaching the train. His heart sank; the ship belonged to the dowutin inquisitor. The fearsome shuttle hovered over the front of the train, then dropped two proton bombs.

Not only did the attack take out the train, but the track that it was on. Cal knew he was being hunted, that all Jedi had been hunted, but how serious this actually was had been lost on him until this moment. The Empire seriously wanted him dead, and they were willing to kill their own to do it.

The train lurched downward, and Cal found himself rolling and sliding down the rough metal. In vain he tried reaching out with the force to slow himself, but he couldn’t focus enough to make any sort of difference. He bashed into several obsticals on his way down, and almost lost his grip on his lightsaber. 

The yacht was hovering toward the end of the doomed train. Cal felt a pang of hope. “Jump now!” the woman from before shouted. She had extended the ramp from the ship and was reaching out.

Cal jumped with all his might. He barely managed to catch the end of the ramp, his legs dangling over an open cavern. The woman was inching out to help him up.

“NO!” the yacht was hit by a blast from the enemy ship. Cal lost his grip and started to fall.

“Auuughhhh!” Cal found himself unable to stop screaming. He tried to brace himself as hit several floating barges on his way down. Each blow brought a new level of pain and disorientation.

He managed to catch a flying scrapper droid, hoping it would lessen his fall. The droid’s thrusters weren’t built for his added weight, and he still fell at an alarming rate.

Cal finally landed on a grate. He eased into the fall and brought himself to his feet. He was shaking all over, both from the cold and from his injuries. He felt dead on his feet, and he knew it wasn’t over yet. He wondered where the yacht ended and if it was okay from being fired at. He tasted blood, and spat a mouthful onto the ground, followed by several rough coughs.

The Second Sister’s tie fighter appeared before him. Cal slumped his shoulders, feeling defeated. He’d been found. 

The inquisitor exited her ship, then brought herself before the injured Jedi. “Going somewhere?” she taunted, her lightsaber raised and ready to strike.

Cal clumsily prepared himself to fight.  _ Just gotta stay alive, _ he thought fiercely. He knew he wasn’t a match for the Second Sister, but he refused to go down without a fight. 

“I recognize that stance,” the inquisitor cooed. “Perhaps you’ve had some training after all. Who was your master, padawan? Someone I killed, perhaps?”

Cal didn’t take his eyes off of her. He refused to answer for fear of losing his focus. She was inching closer to him, and he had nowhere to run.

“What Jedi gave their life so that you might live?” the Second Sister spat.

His fury rising, Cal lunged at the inquisitor. She blocked him with ease, then threw him to the side with the force. He crashed into a pile of crates. Blood was seeping into his vision again. He wiped the warm liquid away, then stood again to defend himself. He fought with all his might. His energy was waning and he was extremely out of practice. 

Second Sister didn’t seem to be taking any lethal blows. Cal felt like he was being toyed with instead. “You’re out of practice, young one,” she teased. He took another strike, which she tossed aside with a wave of her hand. She was strong with the force, with the darkside. She reached out with a delicate hand, and Cal felt himself lifting off the ground by a few inches. “You’re a lot of fun, padawan,” she teased. “A little scrap rat, fighting to stay alive.” Her face was well hidden in her helmet, but Cal felt her almost sick affection for him. He struggled in her grip, then using his own force abilities managed to push away out of her clutch.

Cal fought to stay conscious. He couldn’t get a hit on the Second Sister, he could only dance around trying to stay out of reach. She still would reach out and grab him with the force, messing with him like a play-thing.

The inquisitor lashed out, striking down toward Cal, who blocked at the last minute. She had him pinned, their lightsabers crossed. He looked into her face, or where he thought her face was, determined to keep her at bay. He prayed help would come soon. 

The roar of the yacht’s engines finally met his ears. Two blasts hit the platform, sending Cal and the inquisitor flying apart. He landed hard near the edge of the metal grating, his saber falling out of his hands. Ears ringing, he sat up and hurriedly took hold of his weapon.

“Get on board!” he heard behind him. Without thinking twice, Cal was limping toward the waiting ship. He could hear the inquisitor’s lightsaber behind him. The woman on the ship grabbed Cal by the shoulder and wrenched him the rest of the way up the ramp.

Cal stumbled into the luxury yacht. His heart was pounding in his throat, his vision slightly blurred from fear. His eyes darted around, taking in the ship’s cleanliness and decor. He heard blaster-fire, then the woman shouting “Captain!”

Cal and the woman scurried to the front of the ship. A four-armed latero was piloting the yacht. A screeching sound drew their attention to the front windows. The inquisitor was latched on, her hand raised. The ship lurched as she controlled the steering with the force.

The woman grabbed at the wheel, turning sharply and causing the Second Sister to fly off the ship. They were finally free, and heading off-planet. The ship jumped to lightspeed.

Cal realized he was still hanging onto his ignited lightsaber for dear-life. He had been hunted, and his instincts told him to keep alert.

“Okay, shut that thing off and grab some seat,” the latero said carefully. Embarrassed, Cal sheathed his weapon. 

The woman pushed past Cal to the holotable. “Thanks for the help,” he said to her sheepishly. He still had his guard up, these people were still strangers to him. “Who are you people?”   
  
“My name is Cere Junda,” the woman offered first. She was slightly shorter than Cal, but she was built tough, age and experience showing on her weathered face. “And this is my captain, Greez Dritus.” She gestured to the latero, who had joined them around the navigation table.

“How you doin’?” Greez offered. “The Mantis is my ship, but you better pay attention to this lady here.” He pointed at Cere. 

“Who are you?” Cere asked.

“Cal. Kestis.” Cal replied. He was pacing, unable to calm down. “Who was that out there?”

Cere and Greez exchanged looks. “An imperial inquisitor. She’s a force user hunting Jedi survivors. And now that she knows who you are, she will not stop until she destroys you.”

Cal gave her a pained look. “How do you know so much?” he asked quietly. “And why’d you help me?”

“We tracked imperial communications. We heard inquisitors were heading to Bracca, so we made our move.” 

His fear returned ten-fold, but Cal tried not to show it. “Oh yeah? So, what’s the bounty on Jedi these days,” he asked angrily. 

“That’s gratitude for ya,” Greez huffed. 

Cere shushed him. She looked at Cal, softening her gaze. “Look, I get it. You’ve been surviving on your own for so long it’s impossible to trust anyone. And that’s what’s kept you alive. But this is about something bigger than just surviving.”

Cal couldn’t hide his surprise. “Like what?”

“Like rebuilding the Jedi Order,” Cere replied bluntly.

“You two?” Cal asked, still digesting her words. 

“Oh we’re not good enough for you?” Greez said, a slight sting in his voice.

“The Jedi council?” Cal pressed, fearing the answer. He’d been hiding for so long, and hadn’t let himself reach out off-planet for fear of being discovered. He’d had no news.

Cere looked at the ground. “They’re gone,” she said softly.

Cal wanted to fall to his knees. He’d refused to think that the Order was completely disbanded, but he’d lost all hope the moment he crash-landed on Bracca, alone and fighting for survival. “Oh,” he finally breathed. “So I’m all you’ve got.”

Cere wouldn’t look him in the eye anymore. “Captain, set a course for Bogano,” she instructed to Greez. She then turned to Cal. “In the meantime, try and relax. You’re injured. Please, take care of yourself and then we will talk.”

Cal gave her a paranoid look. He knew he was bloody and covered in dirt, but he wasn’t ready to relax, not with all that had happened.

“You’re safe here,” Cere pressed gently. “We’re on the same side. Please…” she gestured toward the rear of the ship. “Please take care of yourself. There’s a shower in the rear of the ship, and an extra cot. It’ll be a few hours before we reach our destination.”

Cere returned to the front of the ship. Cal stumbled along to the back, searching for the facilities. His adrenaline was almost completely worn off, and he felt like he was going to pass out from stress and pain. Still, he stripped down in the small refresher and turned the water on as hot as he dared.

Cal hadn’t felt warm water on his body since before the Purge. He began to force himself to consciously relax his muscles. He felt weak, so he sat on the floor of the tiled shower, letting the water run over his entire body.

Blood mixed with water as ran down to the drains. His entire body was covered with bruises, scratches, and scars, some as old as 5 years, others brand new from the fight he’d just endured. He ran a hand through his wet hair, searching for the wound. It wasn’t as big as he had initially thought, and he carefully cleaned the area until no more blood was seeping from his fiery red hair.

Visions kept taking over his consciousness while he soaked.  _ Prauf, I’m so sorry, _ Cal thought. He finally let himself grieve, tears falling with the hot water from the shower. His shoulders shook with sobs, bringing his memories back to before the day’s events. He’d come to rely on his friend, which he now felt was a mistake. It was like losing everything all over again. He wasn’t alone now, but he didn’t actually know Cere and Greez, nor did he fully trust them yet.

Ever-grateful for his lightsaber, which he had brought into the small room with him, he thought back to when he didn’t carry it with him. He had been so afraid of being found out, he had buried every aspect of his past. He’d done everything he could to cut himself off from the force. It now felt like a stranger, trying to push itself back into his life. He knew he would let it, but he didn’t know how. He had no guidance except for what his now-deceased master had taught him. His meditations were met with pain and darkness, and he wasn’t ready to try again. Not yet.

Unsure how much time had passed, Cal finally ended his long reprieve in the hot water. After drying himself and donning his filthy, but mostly dry, clothing, he made his way to the cot that Cere had mentioned. He flopped down, exhaustion overtaking him. He plead to himself for a dreamless sleep, but it was all in vain. Before he closed his eyes, he stared up at the ceiling, hopelessly grabbing at any positive memory he had to help steer his subconscious away from the darkness that lurked inside.

**Author's Note:**

> That's it for a while. Please check out the other stories in the series, and please comment if you think of a scene you'd like expanded with more thoughts, feelings, and other lovely things. I'll be very busy over the next few weeks, but hopefully I can squeeze in some writing time here and there. Much love to you all!
> 
> *Prauf is an abednedo. Look it up.


End file.
